Group communication protocol designed for multicast communication may be used to communicate messages between endpoints forming a group. Communication endpoints can be processes or objects, or any entity that can send and receive messages to/from a group.
The destination address of a node may comprise an Internet Protocol (IP) address and port of a receiver socket. However, the use of such IP address provides some disadvantages. For example, when a node is shunned and later rejoins, its physical address may have changed. A communication directed to a Network Interface Controller (NIC) may be interrupted if the NIC fails. Also, the sender's address may be changed by a Netword Address Translator (NAT).